


The Bus-stop next to the Last Song Coffee-Shop

by Chibifukurou



Category: Bandom, Cobra Starship, Fall Out Boy, Panic! at the Disco
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Gen, Homophobia, Homophobic Language, Internalized Homophobia
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-09-04
Updated: 2014-09-04
Packaged: 2018-02-16 03:56:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 11,815
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2254998
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Chibifukurou/pseuds/Chibifukurou
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The kid had been sitting on the bus-stop's bench for hours. He'd already been there before Pete arrived at the shop to start the morning baked goods at four-thirty. It was almost ten now, so the kid had either missed six consecutive busses, or he didn't have anywhere else to be. </p><p>Which of course meant that Pete was going to have to see if he needed a place to stay. Gabe was going to kill him.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Kid on the Bus-Stop

**Author's Note:**

> Authors Note: A thank you to ivory-gates for all their help with this story. All remaining mistakes are my own. Please be aware that there is religious based internal and external homophobia in this story. If that is likely to trigger you then please read with caution.
> 
> You can see Am Kave's amazing artwork for this fic here: http://amkave.livejournal.com/11931.html  
> And a great mix by TruthisMusic here: http://truthismusic.dreamwidth.org/4464.html

~♪♫~Pete~♫♪~

The kid had been sitting on the bus-stop's bench for hours. He'd already been there before Pete arrived at the shop to start the morning baked goods at four-thirty. It was almost ten now, so the kid had either missed six consecutive busses, or he didn't have anywhere else to be. Add to that the fact that he had a ruck-sack and a beaten-up guitar case with him and it implied that he had all his earthly possessions with him.

Pete glanced at the register and then back out the window towards the bus-stop. He'd only be gone for a few minutes, and he'd be in view of the shop door the whole time. It would be fine. Besides, it would save him a trip to the food pantry with the day old baked goods.

He gathered a couple day old scones and pepperoni rolls in a bag and stuck a fresh sausage biscuit in for good measure. It was only a couple dollars' worth of food, and the kid could use the warmth and the protein. After a second though, he grabbed a Styrofoam cup of sweetened green tea.

With one last glance at the empty shop, he jogged across the street. "Hey kid, you've got to be freezing out here? Is your bus about here?"

The kid started back. He glanced up at Pete from under too long black bangs. His eyes were red-rimmed. "I--" then he petered out and stared at his lap.

Okay, so he wasn't going to be helping Pete keep the conversation going. That was all right; it wouldn't be the first time that Pete had held a conversation down by himself. "I figured if you were going to be out here for a while you could probably use some food. And I need a way to get rid of some leftover food from the morning rush." Pete put the bag and tea down on the bench.

He sat down on the bus stop bench making sure to sit as far as he could from the kid while still being within the minimal shelter provided by the glass walls and roof. "The weather's about to get brutal. At least that's what the news keeps saying. As far as I can tell the seasons haven't figured themselves out yet."

Tilting his head to keep an eye on Pete, the kid edged his hand closer to the tea. Once he decided that Pete wasn't trying to trick him the kid grabbed the cup and cradled it between his hands.

"I'm Pete, by the way." He waited a few minutes to see if the kid would introduce himself now that he was sipping the tea.

Finally he did. "Brendon."

Pete stuck his hand out to shake. "Nice to meet you, Brendon. You new in town?"

"No, I'm from the Commune."

Pete probably should have guessed from the fact none of Brendon's clothes had buttons or other decoration. "So do you need a ride back out that way?" Gabe was going to kill him if he closed the shop to give the kid a ride. He'd get over it though. There was no way that Pete was just going to leave Brendon out here to freeze.

Brendon didn't take him up on the offer, or actually say anything at all. Instead he just shook his head.

Pete tried to reason out what he should do next. "Do you need a place to work for a couple days?"

Brendon's head snapped around so fast Pete was afraid he was going to break something. "What?"

"Fresh off the commune, most kids are looking for work." At least Pete assumed they were. From what little he knew about the place, they didn't really use standard currency. Preferring to stick to barter.

Brendon's mouth opened and closed a couple times, like somebody had cut the connection between his brain and his mouth. Finally he seemed to figure out what he wanted to say. "Are you serious?"

"Can you play?" Pete pointed at the guitar case leaned up against the bench.

Brendon looked back and forth between Pete and the guitar. "Ye--ah." He stretched out the word for a long moment.

"Good, I could use somebody to help draw in customers, and you're cute enough to do the trick."

Pete was expecting the kid to blush or say something nasty. Which was why he was flirting so blatantly. He wanted to help Brendon out but he wasn't going to hide the fact that he liked boys as much as he liked girls. And he didn't need Brendon getting mad later when he met Gabe and figured out he'd spent a few hours with what the Commune would consider a heathen.

Instead of getting angry, Brendon just looked panicked. Pete made a mental note to avoid flirting until Brendon was a little more comfortable with him.

Wrapping an arm over Brendon's shoulder and using his other hand to grab Brendon's bag. He towed Brendon across the street towards the Last Song. Brendon took a few seconds to shuffle the bag between his hands before he got it secured under one arm and got his guitar case slung over his back.

Then they were on their way. They made it back into the store just as a group of teenagers came in. Pete shoved Brendon towards the small stage at the far side of the store and ran for the counter. "Hello Ladies, what can I get you today?"

~♪♫~Gabe~♫♪~

Gabe had certain expectations when he came to meet Pete at their coffee-shopafter he got off work at the bank. Those expectations usually involved making out for a couple minutes in kitchen, before donning an apron to help out.

They definitely didn't involve walking into the store to see a guy he didn't know wearing Gabe's apron and standing behind the counter. He shifted nervously when Gabe glared. "Can I get you something."

"Where's Pete?" If he'd had one of his fits of inspiration and run off for some strange supplies and left a guy he didn't know in charge of the shop, Gabe was going to yell. Well, maybe. It depended on how manic Pete was, when Gabe found him.

The guy glanced towards the whale patterned curtain that separated the main part of the shop from the kitchen. "Um, I don't know?"

Pete blasted through the curtain going a hundred miles an hour, mixing bowl balanced on his hip. "Gabe! I wondered when you'd get here!" He edged around the counter to come press a kiss to Gabe's cheek. "Oh, and I need to introduce you. This is Brendon. He needed some work so I figured he could help out around the shop."

Well, Gabe guessed, it could have been worse. At least Pete hadn't left Brendon in charge of the cash register without supervision.

"Brendon, you'll be fine keeping the shop a little longer won't you?" Pete yelled over his shoulder, already pushing through the curtain, heading back towards the kitchen.

"Yes, sir," Brendon stuttered.

Gabe edged between Brendon and the counter that held the espresso machine. He didn't want to get close enough to accidentally brush against him. This whole situation was making him uncomfortable. Why did Pete have to be so impulsive?

Pushing through the curtain, Gabe stopped to watch as Pete poured the batter he'd been whisking into a pan. His legs and feet pounded out a rhythm only Pete could hear.   
Once Pete finished pouring the batter and took the bowl to the sink to wash, Gabe left the doorway. He wrapped his arms around Pete's chest, under his arms, and rested his pointy chin on Pete's shoulder. "Why did you hire a part-timer without consulting me? We were still a few months out from having the money."

"You don't need to be working here every day after you get out at the bank. Besides, I couldn't just leave him sitting on the bus-stop all day."

"Bus-stop?" Gabe turned to stare at the curtain, like he could see right through it to where Brendon was standing.

"Yeah, you didn't notice the clothes?"

Gabe admitted, if only to himself, that he had been more worried about Pete hiring an attractive young man to work the register without consulting him first. "Not really."

"He's straight off the commune. I didn't ask if he'd been kicked out. Given the fact that he was out at the bus-stop before I got into work and he stayed there until I went and got him at ten, I don't think that anybody was coming back for him."

"Shit!" Gabe still remembered having Pete show up on his doorstep in high school. His parents had been demanding that he go to boot-camp to straighten him out and Pete had been terrified. Papi had worked things out with Pete's parents to make sure he wouldn't have to go, but it hadn't been easy. Pete had still spent years in intensive therapy while his parents tried to make him 'better'.

No wonder Pete hadn't been able to think things through. Gabe was the controlled one in their relationship and he didn't think he'd have been able to ignore the kid. "Do you know if he's over eighteen at least?"

"I didn't ask. If he's not, we can't keep him, but this way he'll at least have a little money to get him through." Pete shrugged.

Gabe's chin was almost dislodged from its perch on Pete's shoulder. Gabe burrowed a little closer. "We're going to have to ask."

"Will you?"

It would probably go better if Pete did it, given the amazing impression Gabe must have given the kid, but he wasn't mean enough to ask that of Pete. He pressed a kiss to Pete's cheek. "I'll take care of it. Just make sure you get the brownies into the oven. I'm looking forward to trying them."

Pete smiled. He was already swaying to the music in his head, as Gabe let go and headed back towards the door to the store. He almost ran Brendon over.

Brendon ducked his head down and skirted around Gabe with the same care that Gabe had taken a few minutes earlier. After he was safely passed Gabe, he headed for Pete. "I have a guy who wants a cappuccino. Do you want me to wash up while you help him?"

"No, it's fine." Pete leaned back until he could catch Gabe's eye. "Gabe can you go ahead and get that made?"

Gabe nodded, pushing the curtain aside. He was surprised to see that a handful of people had come in while he was in the back. They all seemed happy enough, though the guy at the counter was drumming his fingers impatiently. Gabe grabbed a apron off the hook by the door. Time to get to work.

~♪♫~Brendon~♫♪~

Brendon spent most of the evening bouncing between tasks. Sometimes he helped Pete out in the kitchen. There always seemed to be something that needed stirring, cutting or wrapping.

Other times he was out front with Gabe. The customers were nice and usually friendly, but Brendon still felt out of his depth. He didn't know what half the things people ordered were, much less how to make them. He usually just stood there, staring as Gabe turned out drinks so fast it looked like magic.

Gabe let him work the cash register when things got slow. He was nice now that Brendon was a little more used to him. Whatever bad mood he'd had when he'd come in seemed to have disappeared. The pressure of his attention, and the size of his personality, hadn't changed with his mood.

Every time he gave one of his huge, blinding smiles to one of the customers, or aimed it at Brendon, it felt like the breath was being knocked out of Brendon's lungs.

It didn't hurt that he was as nice as Pete. When Brendon screwed up an elderly lady's order, and had to ring her up twice, he didn't even get mad. Instead he leaned over the counter, his lanky arms and legs going every which direction. He aimed that smile at the older lady. She'd started puffing up like an angry rooster and Brendon had already started to duck down until his chin hit his chest when Gabe came over.

"Ms. Esther, how are you grandkids today?" Gabe asked.

She started back and gave him a myopic look through her glasses. "Oh, Gabriel. I didn't know you were here today. I've been dealing with this young man." She drags out the syllables of 'young man' out long enough that she might as well have called Brendon something nasty.

"Oh,Brendon? He's the little brother of one of my friends back east. You know how it is, the first day on the job. We'll get him trained right up."

Ms. Esther didn't seem to be able to figure out a way to keep complaining after Gabe first agreed with her that Brendon had messed up, and then dismissed the whole thing as unimportant. Her mouth opened and shut a few times, but just before she seemed to gather herself to start complaining again, Gabe intervened again. He reached in and grabbed a cookie from the bakery case and placed it on top of her cup. Winking, he said, "Take it with our compliment."

Brendon had managed to get the register back open and handed her the correct change. She humphed and gave him one last near-sighted glare before heading for the door. As soon as she was gone, and the store was empty, Brendon braced for Gabe to start yelling.

Gabe smiled at Brendon. "You handled Ms. Esther well. Don't let her get to you. She and her husband used to come in here a lot." He nodded towards the windows at the front of the store. "The hospital was only a few streets over, and they'd come in after his chemo treatments. He died a few months back, and she only comes in now when she's feeling lonely and misses him."

Pete came out with a cake plate full of cling-wrap covered brownies. "Are you talking about Ms. Esther?"

"Yeah, you just missed her. She was her usual patient self, and the register was sticking again."

Pete nodded and hummed. "Brendon, if she comes in when you are alone up here, just give her her next cup on the house. She'll forget about it soon enough."

Gabe waited until Pete put down the brownies before he pounced. He swept Pete off was feet and dipped him down towards the floor in a move that looked like it could have come straight out of one of Brendon's mother's favorite dance shows. Gabe proceeded to try and suck Pete's teeth out.

Nervous at the blatant show of intimacy, Brendon turned his attention to trying to scrub stains off the counter beside the espresso machine. Maybe if he waited long enough they'd move back into the kitchen.


	2. Getting to Know Each Other

~♪♫~Pete~♫♪~

 

Pete felt the time slipping by. He was glad to have Brendon around even though he knew they couldn't afford to have another employee right now. It was nice, though, to be able to spend most of the evening experimenting with new confections and getting a jump start on the bread dough for the next morning.

 

He and Gabe might even make it back to their apartment before 11 tonight.  Though there was still Brendon to consider. They couldn't just leave him here in the store all night, and there was no way that Pete was letting him wander the city on his own. There was no telling what kind of trouble the kid would get himself into. Straight off the commune, not that Pete knew what that meant. He could imagine though, with the way the kid ducked away whenever anybody got loud. Yeah, he could image a little too well. Some of his nightmares from the period when his parents tried to send him to boot camp still crept  into his dreams.

 

Pete looked as his fridge full of rising dough and considered whether or not he should make a batch of cookies. They would keep until tomorrow, and he always felt better when he had something to distract himself with.

 

Brendon came back into the kitchen before Pete could decide. "Gabe said that he thinks he's going to go ahead and close the shop up a little early tonight if that's okay with you?"

 

Pete squinted at Brendon for a few seconds while he waited for the information to process through. "What time is it?"

 

Brendon looked around, probably trying to find a clock.

 

Looking around, Pete tried to find his phone. That was how he usually checked the time.

 

Brendon kept standing just inside the door while Pete wove around the island and started looking under various pots and behind the flour bin. Where had he left it this time?

 

"What are you looking for?"

 

"My phone."

 

Brendon stared at him for a little longer, like he was trying to make sure Pete was serious. Which Pete guessed was only fair, since most people wouldn't be digging through the flour bin to make sure their phone wasn't inside. There was a reason that  Gabe always insisted that Pete use the strongest protective case that they can find.

 

Recovering quickly, Brendon came over to help him look. Together they searched the rest of the kitchen. Pete was about ready to admit defeat and get Gabe to call the stupid thing, when Brendon stopped to squint at him. "Were you wearing that apron earlier?"

 

Pete looks down to see which apron he's wearing. It was the one with little robots dancing all over it. Had he been wearing this one earlier? He tries to remember. No, he'd started out the day in his frog apron that closed with big buttons. He remembered because one of the buttons had popped off, and he'd just let the strap hang for the rest of the day.

 

Until he'd dumped a bunch of cake batter down the front and had to change out. He went to the back door, where they kept the basket of dirty laundry to take back to the apartment and wash. It took shoving aside some towels, which sent a cloud of flour into his face and sent him into a sneezing fit, but he rescued the apron. Sure enough, his phone was still stuck in the pocket.

 

Well that was a lucky save. He probably would have washed it without realizing. He never remembered Gabe's rule about checking pockets before you put things in the wash.

 

Now why had he been searching for the phone again? Pete stared at the wallpaper of smiling baked goods, trying to remember. Finally, he turned back to Brendon. "Why did I start looking for this?"

 

"Um, I came back to tell you that Gabe wanted to close early?"

 

Ri-ight.  Pete had wanted to make sure he remembered things right, and it was a Thursday. He unlocked the phone again, to check. Yep, a Thursday. So, why would… Pete tried to remember back to when he and Gabe had been talking earlier. Gabe had said he'd talk to Brendon about whether or not he was a minor. Which was probably a conversation better not overheard by any of their nosey patrons. "Yeah, tell him to go ahead and close-up. I'll make us some sandwiches to eat."

 

"Okay."

 

 Brendon was almost back through the door, when Pete remembered that he needed to check about what the kid wanted on his sandwich. He was so used to making his and Gabe's it hadn't registered that he'd need to make a third sandwich. "Anything I should avoid putting on your sandwich?"

 

"Um," Brendon gave him another one of those confused looks. "I guess no tomato?"

 

"Sounds good. You go help Gabe close up, and I'll bring them out when they're ready."

 

~♪♫~Gabe~♫♪~

 

When Gabe sent Brendon back to check with Pete about closing up early, he was only expecting it to take a few minutes. He should have known better by this point in his relationship with Pete. After the first five minutes, he'd stuck his head into the kitchen to make sure everything was okay.

 

He'd only been able to see Brendon and Pete's asses since they were both bent down under the counter. Gabe took a couple seconds to enjoy the view before heading back into the shop to close up.  He could guess what happened. It would probably take them another fifteen minutes to find Pete's phone. Plenty of time for Gabe to lock up, count the money in the register and set up for the next day.

 

Gabe had started making his and Pete's usual after-work drinks when Brendon came back out. Brendon was looking a little stunned, which was typical when somebody first got the full effect of Pete's brain leveled on them. Gabe decided to give Brendon an easy question before he started on the interrogation. "You find the phone?"

 

"You knew it was missing?"

 

"I checked when you didn't come right back and figured out what was going on when I saw both you and Pete digging around in the supply cabinet. He's lost it in there a good half-dozen times."

 

Brendon didn't have a reply for that. "Can I help you make those?"

 

Gabe glanced at his hands, which had gone on making the Chai tea latte and Cafe Americano without his direct input. "Nah, I've got it under control. Besides I'm not quite ready to have you brave the espresso machine yet."

 

Wringing his hands, Brendon looked around the store. Probably trying to come up with some way to be helpful. Poor kid, it couldn't be easy suddenly being reliant on a couple of strangers. "You can go ahead and wipe down the counter if  you want. Rag and cleaner are under the register."

 

"Thank you!" Brendon probably didn't mean for that to come out as desperate as it sounded.

 

Oh well, Gabe could be a good guy when he thought it was worth the effort. It wasn't much trouble to let the moment slide by. Once Brendon was busy with the rag, Gabe went after the hard questions. These things always went better when the person he was questioning didn't feel like they had to look him in the eye. It made it a little harder for Gabe to tell if Brendon was telling the truth, but he doubted somebody raised by strict religious standards was going to try and pull a fast one on him.

 

"Are you eighteen?"

 

Brendon dropped the bottle of cleaner it bounced off the counter, hit the floor, and started rolling away. Thankfully it was a spray bottle so they wouldn't have to clean up any puddles.  

 

He scooped up the bottle and tucked it back under the sink. Brendon was still standing in stunned silence. He looked a little pale, so Gabe got a grip on his arm and guided him around the counter until he could get a seat at the bar. He didn't want Brendon fainting on him.

 

"You just sit there, we'll talk once we get some food into you." Gabe waited until Brendon nodded before starting to clean behind the counter. He wasn't sure that Brendon had understood what he was  asking, but at least he shouldn't have to worry about Brendon making a run for it while he was distracted. Habit made the cleaning go quickly, and he was tucking all the supplies away when Pete came out from the kitchen, balancing three places of sandwiches precariously on his arm.

 

He glanced over to where Brendon was sitting and then back at Gabe. He raised an eyebrow in question. Gabe could only shrug in reply. There wasn't any point in upsetting Brendon further by trying to explain to Pete why Brendon looked like he was one bad shock away from fainting.

 

Pete had enough experience with Gabe that he picked up on the clue that Gabe wasn't going to talk. So Pete did what he did best when faced with a situation that he couldn't control. He got loud. "So Brendon. I wasn't sure what you'd want to have with your sandwich, so I gave you some of my dill chips. Gabe likes these nasty cardboard chip cracker things. I don't recommend them at all."

 

Pete dropped the plates down on the table near the back. Over where the small stage, radio, and karaoke machine were located. It didn't have a good view out the windows, but there wasn't much to see out that way at this time of night.

 

Once his hands were empty, Pete went over to the stage and turned on the radio to one of the local alternate rock stations. "Come on kid. I promise I can make a mean sandwich. You'll love it. Gabe, do you have the drinks?"

 

"All except Brendon's. He didn't know what he wanted."

 

Pete gave Brendon a searching look. "Let's start him out easy. Iced Cocoa."

 

Gabe nodded. It was one of their most popular drinks this time of the year. Dark chocolate milk frozen blended with ice until it turned into a chocolate slushie.

 

~♪♫~Brendon~♫♪~

 

Brendon poked at the sandwich on his plate. This was a weird situation. It was hard to believe that he had been sitting down to dinner with his parents just the night before. It wasn't that Gabe and Pete weren't great. They were much nicer to him than he expected anyone to be to a freak like him.

 

But then again, they didn't know why he'd been kicked out of the commune. Just that he was. He looked at Gabe and Pete's clasped hands. Then again, maybe they wouldn't care.

 

He didn't dare ask. Not after he'd already lost one home. So he just worked on eating his sandwich and letting Gabe and Pete talk. Mostly they seemed to be discussing some kind of music event that was going to be happening at the Last Song the upcoming Friday. Pete in particular seemed extremely excited about somebody named Pat, who was going to be in town for the weekend.

 

Gabe teased Pete about the crush he had on Pat. So Brendon assumed 'Pat' had to be short for Patrick.

 

He sounded like an interesting guy. If Pete were to be believed, Pat could play any instrument conceived by man.

 

Since it seemed safe to enter the conversation, Brendon asked. "Do you think Pat will have a keyboard I might be able to play?"

 

The question seemed to catch Pete and Gabe off guard for a minute. They looked at each other for a moment before turning to stare at Brendon instead.

 

Brendon fought off the urge to duck down under the table until they found something else to talk about. Maybe asking about the keyboard wasn't such a great idea after all.

 

Pete chewed on his lip for a couple seconds. His eyes dated from Gabe to Brendon and back again. Finally, he seemed to decide what he needed to say. "I'm sure Pat will bring a keyboard with him, but I'm not sure if you'll want to be here for the music night." He glanced in Gabe's direction and motioned with his head to Brendon. Probably expecting Gabe to figure out what to say.

 

Gabe gave a gusty sigh, that fit with his large frame. "What Pete was trying not to say was that the Last Song has a liquor license. We don't usually use it, but on music nights we stay open until three in the morning. So we break out the booze."

 

"So?"

 

"So. I'm not going to have someone your age serve an alcoholic beverages to my guests. That would be a great way to lose our liquor license."

 

Brendon fiddled with his glass, trying to figure out how a question about pianos had turned into a discussion of his age. One of the few topics he had been trying to avoid.

 

It was Gabe's turn to make less them sudden motions at Pete.

 

Pete was looking at something out of the window, so it took Gabe shoving his shoulder for him to look back at Gabe and notice the shifty eyed look he was getting. "Oh, right."

 

Brendon expected him to continue, but instead he and Gabe seemed to have a deep and angry discussion involving their eyebrows, head tilts, and the occasional twitch.

 

Finally, Pete groaned. "Fine, but you were the one who was supposed to be handling this."

 

Gabe didn't bother to comment.

 

Turning to Brendon, Pete screwed up his face in a very determined scowl. "So we kind of need to know how old you are. Not because we're checking to see if you're old enough to kick out or anything. We're not that mean… It's just… well." Pete waved his hands around in the air like that would explain the whole thing.

 

Brendon wanted to relax. Pete had said that they didn't want to know how old he was so they could kick him out, but he couldn't think of any good reason they would want to know how old he was. He still remembered his father's rants about how Heathens tried to seduce Brendon's sisters away the minute they turned eighteen, and it was no longer illegal for them to sleep with men outside the compound.

 

He'd never seemed to think that Brendon was at risk of anything like that. But then maybe it was different when it came to men who liked other men.

 

Gabe thankfully interrupted before Brendon could panic any further. "What Pete is trying to say." He gave Pete an amused look. "Is that it is illegal for us to harbor a minor. So we need to know if you are over eighteen so we can offer you somewhere to stay until you can find something stable."

 

That sounded fine, but it didn't exactly put Brendon's mind at ease. Giving him a place to stay could mean a couple things. None of them guarantees that he wouldn't be expected to sleep with them. He gnawed on his lip. He didn't want to ask, and it wasn't like he was in a position to say no. He was a sinner anyway, looking with lust at Pete and Gable. Maybe he'd even like it? He just didn't know what to do. If he said he was seventeen they would make him leave. But he didn't have any money either.  "I turned eighteen last April."

 

Gabe let out another great gust of sigh and Pete gave him a smile like he had done something miraculous by telling them his age. Maybe everything would be okay.

 

"Great!" Pete said. "Then I'd like to formally offer you our couch until we can find you something better."

 

Pete locked up the store, and they headed out. The apartment Gabe and Pete shared was a nice place. It was within walking distance from the cafe, but it wasn't exactly just around the corner.

 

It took them fifteen minutes to the apartment, and Pete spent most of that time teasing Gabe about not bringing the car to pick them up.

 

Brendon didn't mind the chance to have a walk. He wasn't used to all the smog and lights in the city. It didn't feel like it could possibly be past ten o'clock when it was still so light outside. He tried not to act like a hick and gape at all of the neon signs that lit up their way.

 

It still felt strange, though. By this time at the compound everyone would be in their houses, if not in bed. The streets here were filled with singles and couples. They passed by a handful of bars that were still open. The smell of alcohol wafted out into the humid air.

 

At least it had cooled down some since the late morning. Brendon didn't want to think about what he'd be doing if Pete hadn't seen him and taken mercy. Probably have been arrested for sitting on the bus bench so long.

 

He doubts the people in this gleaming city look too kindly on their religious neighbors. He's not sure he can even blame them. He knows that the Commune doesn't like letting 'heathens' onto their property. The city proabably isn't much different. City kept to the city, and commune kept to the commune.  

 

Judgment was the Commune's watchword. Rather than the love of God for man, or even the love of man for man. Everything was about casting out the heretics before they could tempt you. Who could be the most righteous. He understood it in a way. It was, after all, the way the Bible worked.

 

He could still remember most of Leviticus. They had spent months studying it, and it was ingrained in his head to the point that it cropped up anytime he went against one of the Bible teachings. It didn't make for a comforting life, when he was so different from anything that was described in any part of the Bible that he had ever read.

 

Pete and Gabe helped him up the stairs. He only had the one bag still, but he was exhausted. He still hadn't gotten any sleep today, and he was surprised that he was still conscious. Days like this hopefully wouldn't come again.

 

Pete pushed the door to the apartment open a little bit while Gabe kept a firm hold on Brendon's elbow. A bulldog that came up mid-thigh on Pete tried to make a break for the stairs before Pete caught him and corrals him back inside. "Hermie, you know you're not supposed to try and go down the stairs on your own."

 

Once Pete had a good hold on the dog's collar, Gabe helped Brendon into the apartment. Cozy was the politest term that Brendon could think of to describe the place. There was furniture in every nook and corner. An upright piano was shoved into one corner, and a few stands for bases were next to it. There was a couch in the center of the room, cattycorner to an old-school TV. Even in the compound he's pretty sure they're using something newer. And that was saying something in a community that prides itself on only using cast-offs of electronics so that they are not spending money that they should be giving to god.

 

The curtains are made up of what Brendon suspects are tablecloths, if the paisley pattern was anything to go by, and every surface was covered in books, books, and more books. Only broken up by the stacks of papers here and there.

 

Gabe walked Brendon over to the couch and shoved him down onto it. While Hermie followed Pete through a door that led to the back of the apartment. Brendon assumed that the door led to Gabe and Pete's bedroom.

 

He popped back out with Hermie on a sparkly pink leash, a pillow under his other arm, and a blanket wrapped around his shoulders like a cape. He dropped the pillow and blanket down on the bed next to Brendon. "You go ahead and get some sleep. I'm going to take Hermie out for his midnight stroll while Gabe gets ready for bed."

 

Once Pete was out the door, Gabe headed into the back bedroom as well. He didn't turn off the lights, probably because he didn't want Pete to try and come back into the dark. Not that it mattered to Brendon. He was so tired that he could probably sleep through a stampede of his young nephews and nieces. A little extra light certainly wasn't going to keep him up.

 

He took off his jacket and shoes and positioned them next to the couch along with his bag. He wrapped himself up in a blanket. Then, using the back of the couch to block out the light, he went to sleep.


	3. Late Night Musings

~♪♫~Pete~♫♪~

 

Brendon must have been even more tired than Pete had thought. When Pete came back in from walking Hermie, Brendon didn't even move. It was like he was dead. Or it would be if he  hadn't kept snoring a high-pitched whistling snore.

 

Hermie went over to sniff at Brendon's bag and shoes. Then, once he was convinced that he'd smelled everything of interest there, he put his front paws on the side of the couch and started sniffing at Brendon's hair. It was about the only part of his body that Pete could see since he was so tightly wrapped in a blanket.

 

It was an old ratty blanket that Gabe's dad got from Gabe's Grandma. He was a scared teenager.

 

And even though it had been half a decade, Pete still remembers the absolute terror he'd felt when he first struck out on his own. Even with all his big plans and his measly savings.

 

He'd never been as bad off as Brendon, and he couldn't imagine how terrified Brendon was. He hadn't missed the way Brendon had hesitated before telling them his age. Pete wanted to believe him badly, but he wasn't sure if Brendon was telling the truth about being over eighteen. At least now, if some police officer asked about why they had a teenager living on their couch, they could claim innocence.

 

Pete went into the kitchen to get Hermie a treat. He'd been a good boy, only making Pete walk to three different dirt sections around the trees in the pedestrian walkways before he'd found a patch of dirt and grass that had smelt good enough to poop on. So he deserved a treat. And this way Pete got a little extra time to avoid having to deal with Gabe.

 

Gabe had a hard time dealing with all the hangups that Pete brought to the table. Papi was an amazing guy who was always wiling to make time for both Gabe and Pete.

 

Finally, Hermie finished his bone, and Pete don't have an excuse to keep from going in and seeing Gabe. Man that was going to suck balls. And unfortunately not in the literal since. Taking a deep breath and putting his chin up, so that he was ready if Gabe wanted to start something, Pete followed Hermie into the bedroom.

 

~♪♫~Gabe~♫♪~

 

Gabe wanted to think that having Brendon stay with them wasn't going to screw things up. He did. It wasn't as if it was Brendon's fault that he had been raised by religious fruitcakes. But it also wasn't Gabe's fault that Pete was too much of a soft touch to turn anybody away.

 

Gabe had rehearsed various conversations in his head for the last half hour while he waited for Pete to come to bed. They all went out of his brain the minute he saw Pete come through the bedroom door. His normally hyper and happy lover was in his classic 'hit them before they can hit you' pose. The one he'd learned at military camp.

 

It was very different from his usual pose when he was feeling neglected our upset. It made Gabe sick to his stomach. He never wanted to make his lover feel like he had to protect himself from Gabe. "Petey, are you all right?"

 

Pete sagged at the pet name. His shoulders lost some of their uptightness, and it looked as if he was breathing normally again instead of trying to hold his breath so that he looked less intimidated. "Yeah. It has just been a long day."

 

Gabe nodded his head in agreement. It had been. "So, you ready to come to bed?"

 

"Don't you want to talk about things."

 

Yeah, he did, but not at the cost of Pete's obviously strained control. "We can talk about it in the morning. I could use the sleep first, to sort out my thoughts. "

 

Pete shifted from foot to foot, his eyes never leaving Gabe's. It was obvious that he wasn't convinced that Gabe was telling the truth about it being okay to wait. That was what happened with your lover knew you too well. "I'm not going to say I'm happy with the fact that you brought a complete stranger into our lives. I'm also not going to ask you to make him leave. I trust your judgment when it comes to these things. It is just that we don't know for sure if he's of age or if he's telling the truth about his father kicking him out. For all, we know he's a runaway, and we're going to have his enraged father come looking for him from the compound. And honestly there was nothing we could do to stop the guy if he decided that he wanted Brendon back. Because, Brendon didn't tell us anything about being abused."

 

Pete flinched back at the "A" word and Gabe forced himself to shut down that track of thought before he upset Pete anymore. "I just want us to be safe. And what are we supposed to do even with a teenage kid? We are barely fit to be parents to a couple of pets.”

 

Pete gave him a carefully cheerful smile that didn't come close to looking natural. “Then I guess we can just be his crazy uncles.”

 

Gabe couldn’t stop the snort of laughter that burst out. After all the tension of the evening, that was just so typical Pete. “I guess we will. If nothing else you’ve got the crazy down.” Reaching out, he reeled Pete in for a deep kiss. “Come on. Let's go to sleep. Hopefully, everything will seem better in the morning.”

 


	4. Two Steps Forward One Step Back

~♪♫~Pete~♫♪~

 

Pete was used to being the first one up in the mornings. Four o'clock was usually the latest he slept in since he needed to open up the store by six and needed to get the coffee brewed and fresh muffins baked before his early morning patrons came in. 

Gabe didn't have to be into work at the bank until eight, so Pete usually made sure the cats were fed and walked Harley before he went out in the morning.

 

Only today, when he went into the kitchen, Brendon was already awake and apparently had figured out where enough utensils and pans were located to make scrambled eggs and toast with black coffee. Pete wrinkles his nose at the eggs, but snatches up the coffee mug and starts to nibble on the corner of one of the pieces of toast. “You’re up early.”

 

Brendon shrugged from where he was very seriously contemplating the cooking eggs. That was all right; before he'd started getting up early every day to open the Last Song; Pete wasn’t much for talking in the morning either.

 

Pete nibbled a little more off of the toast. Maybe he should wake Gabe up? Would that make things more or less awkward?

 

Thankfully he didn’t have to figure it out because Gabe wandered out of the bedroom, scratching at his boxer-clad crotch and yawning fit to split his face in half. His hair stuck up in so many directions it had to break some law of gravity. He was everything that Pete had fallen in love with when he was young and first starting to accept his bisexuality.

 

“Do I smell coffee? Gabe asked, shuffling into the kitchen.

 

In the ultimate act of sacrifice, Pete handed over his half-drunk mug of coffee for Gabe to finish off. He could always get more when Gabe was a little more awake. Cuddling up against Gabe’s sleep-warm side, he got up on tip-toes to whisper into Gabe’s ear. “Don’t forget we have company. As much as I love you in those snake charmer boxers, I think he might prefer at least a pair of sleeping pants.”

 

It took Gabe a second to digest the whole conversation. He wasn’t the best in mornings. Once everything registered, Gabe’s eyes popped open so wide that Pete could see the whites. It was probably a miracle that the coffee didn’t end up dousing any sensitive parts of Gabe’s anatomy, he was in such a hurry to get back into the bedroom.

 

Oh well, that just meant that Pete got to refill the mug with fresh coffee and drink it all himself before Gabe could come back out to steal it.

 

The coffee maker was very close to the stove. Close enough that Pete could use the excuse of refilling the mug to get a good look at Brendon’s face. Brendon’s cheeks, nose, and ears were a little pink but nothing like what he’d been expecting. Maybe the kids wasn’t as fragile as he’d thought. “Sorry about Gabe. He doesn't do early mornings.”

 

Brendon nodded. “That’s fine. I had a lot of older brothers. I’m used to awkward mornings.”

 

Well, Pete supposed that was fair enough. “I’m going to be heading out to the shop when I finish this coffee. I figure you can go with Gabe to get some clothes, before you meet me at the last song. Does that sound alright with you?”

 

“I...I don’t have any money.” Brendon said all in a rush.

 

"We can consider it trade for helping out in the shop."

 

Brendon stared at Pete for a few seconds, like he was trying to decide if he was serious. Brendon thankfully nods and looks away before Pete gave into his nerves and said something stupid. his foot in it. “All right then, I’ll go get ready. Gabe can just drop you off when you all finish. He knows the busy periods so I’m sure he can handle getting you to work on time.”

 

~♪♫~Brendon~♫♪~

 

Brendon had been to the second-hand store a few times before. Mostly to get shoes. The commune didn't have a cobbler or tanners, coming to town were the easiest way to get foot-wear. And since the store was meant to support charity, Brendon's Mom had always preferred shopping here rather than one of the box stores.

 

It was different going in with Gabe. Gabe headed straight for the middle of the store, where racks and racks of slacks were hung. A sign overhead said they were four dollars a pair. At the last minute Gabe turned and moved towards a low series of shelves that were full of polo shirts in various colors. “Which ones do you want? You’ll need at least five.”

 

Brendon looked at all of his choices. His eyes were immediately grabbed by the hot pink and pastel colors that were on the far side of the shelf. He let his eyes flicker over them a few times, looking back at Gabe with each sweep. Trying to figure out what Gabe would do if he tried to wear ‘girly’ colors to work.

 

Gabe grabbed a hot pink shirt off the shelf and then used his grip on Brendon’s shoulder to twist him around so that he could hold the shirt up against his shoulders. “A medium I think.”

 

Then he just tossed the shirt over his arm, like it was perfectly normal. Then he took advantage of the fact that Brendon was still frozen in shock to grab baby pink, lavender, and mint green shirts. "Pick one more and then we’ll head for the pants. I need to be heading to work in the next hour, so we need to keep moving.”

 

Brendon grabbed a nice, happy, yellow shirt and then followed Gabe to the pants. This time he didn’t jump when Gabe grabbed him. Though it felt strange to have Gabe hold them up to his waist. “Two inches up would be too big, and I don’t have time to take you anywhere else,” Gabe said as he shoved on pair of khaki’s back onto the rack and pulled out two of a different size. Before he went a little further down the aisle and grabbed a pair of dark wash jeans too. "I'll stop by one of the box-stores after work to get you some underwear and socks."

 

Then he towed Brendon to the checkout, and they were on their way. When they pulled up in front of the Last Song, Brendon was surprised to see how busy it was. Only Gabe was grabbing him to hand him his shopping bag kept him from running in to help without anything but Gabe’s too big clothes to wear.

 

When he saw Brendon come in, Pete smiled his big, bright smile and nodded towards the kitchen curtain. Then he went back to talking to his customer like there was nobody else waiting in line.

 

Brendon did have to admit he felt better once he used the tiny employee bathroom to wash his face and get dressed in the yellow shirt and dark wash jeans. He’d talk to Pete about the pink shirt another time, just to be sure it was okay to wear. For right now he needed to go help Pete with all their customers.

 

~♪♫~Gabe~♫♪~

 

Gabe had a hard time concentrating at work. He knew Pete would text or call him if anything bad happened, but that didn't make it any easier to know that Pete was alone with a kid that they barely knew

 

It was almost a relief when his phone starts ringing a little after eleven. Gabe put it on silent and looked around to make sure nobody had noticed the noise.  It was a little early for his lunch-break but not unreasonable, and

 

He ducked out of his office, motioned "eating" to his coworker to let him know where he was going, and then he was out of the office and into the somewhat fresher air outside the bank. Pulling the phone out he pressed speed-dial one to call Pete back.

 

He’s glad he decided to take lunch instead of trying to call Pete from the bathroom. Pete is obviously panicked. “Gabe, you need to here, now. This guy just showed up at the bus-stop, and Brendon went out to talk to them. I don't want to make things worse, but should I go out and try to help?”

 

Gabe wasn't sure having either of them step-in would help. Particularly if it was one of Brendon's friends from the Commune “I don’t know. You might want to let them handle things themselves.”

 

He barely got through saying the sentence, before there was a crackle of somebody shifting the phone and the sound of pounding feet and the jingle of the bell above the shop door. And then Pete was yelling, thankfully not right into the phone, “Hey, get your hands off of him!”

 

Then everything got muffled. Probably because Pete had shoved the phone into his pocket without ending the call. Gabe thumbed the call finish button so he could concentrate instead of trying to listen in on what Pete was doing.

 

Jogging to his car, he got in and sped towards the Last Song. Hopefully he'd get there before anything could escalate

 

~♪♫~Brendon~♫♪~

 

When Brendon's dad dropped him off on at the bus-stop he hadn't expected to see anybody from his family again. Shunning didn't work that way. So when he looked up from bussing a table and saw his big brother's beat up pick-up parked in front of the bus-stop he thought he was seeing things.

 

But it was definitely Henry getting out of the truck. Brendon put the plates that he'd been carrying on one of the empty tables and made for the door. "Henry, what are you doing here?"

 

"Dad told me what happened. I got him to agree that you should be allowed to come home. You're going to apologize for making Mom and Dad worry and then you're going to go to on a two year mission and when you get back you're going to have forgotten all about this. Now come on." He grabbed Brendon's arm and started dragging him towards the passenger side of his truck.

 

"Hey, get your hands off of him!" Pete shouted from the other side of the street. He ran across the street and grabbed Brendon's other arm while Henry and Brendon were still frozen in shock. He shoved Brendon behind him. "Look buddy, I don't know who you are but I'm not just going to let you drag Brendon off against his will."

 

Henry was the biggest of all Brendon's brothers. He towered over Pete by a head and a half. Pete didn't seem intimidated even when Henry stepped closer so that he was well within Pete's personal space. "I'm taking him home."

 

"Like hell. Was abandoning him on a bus-stop in the middle of the night not bad enough? What else can you do to him?"

 

Brendon tapped Pete on the shoulder. "It's fine Pete. He talked to my parents, and they're willing to let me come home."

 

"And what do you have to do to get them to agree to that?"

 

"It doesn't matter. I can do whatever it takes." Brendon did his best to sound sure of himself. Maybe going off on a two year mission would be good for him. And it was better than never being able to see his sisters and brothers again."

 

"But."

 

"Thank you for helping me out last night, and for offering to put me up." Brendon eased around Pete and headed for the passenger side door. It was easier than trying to get between Pete and Henry. As long as Henry gets his way, he won't start a fight.

 

Brendon couldn't say the same for Pete. He never would have thought that Pete would be the type to get violent. Pete looked ready to throw a punch now. If he did, Brendon wasn't sure what he'd do. Pete had been nice to him, but Henry was his brother.

 

Gabe's car peeled up and parked hap-hazardly in front of the Last Song. Gabe hopped out and came running over. Brendon braced for things to get worse. Only that didn't happen. Instead Gabe grabbed Pete by the upper arms and pulled him back a few steps. He said something sharp to Henry that Brendon couldn't make out from inside the car. Whatever it was, it was enough to get Henry to back off. He strode back to the truck and climbed in.

 

The Commune was ten miles outside of the city.  On a privately owned tract of land that spread out to cover a few hundred acres. There isn't much traffic on the road that connects it to the city. It only takes them fifteen minutes to get there.

 

Brendon expects Henry to go to their parents' home, but he turns a different direction heading for the Bachelor's barracks. "Henry?"

 

Lips pressed tight together it took a minute or two before Henry spoke. "Mom and Dad agreed not to tell the Elders why they were planning to excommunicate you. That doesn't mean they are ready to accept you back into the house. You're going to stay with me until we can get your mission worked out.

 

"They'll eventually forgive you for your confusion. You're still young, it is understandable that you would be tempted. As long as this never happens again they will eventually forget about it."

 

Brendon knotted his fingers together and stared out the window. It felt good to be home, where everything was familiar, but this conversation wasn't comfortable. He kept wanting to snap that liking boys wasn't a phase. He'd been this way for as long as he'd been interested in anybody. He swallows the urge to correct Henry. This is his only chance to prove he can ignore his earthy temptations. He needs to make good on it.

 


	5. A Decision is Made

~♪♫~Pete~♫♪~

Pete took his aggression out on the bread dough in front of him. "I can't believe he'd just go with that jerk. I mean he had a place to stay with us. We would have been able to work things out."

Gabe leaned against the opposite counter, where Pete could see him but he wouldn't get in the way of Pete's angry baking. "It's his family Pete. Do you honestly expect him to turn his back on them if they are willing to offer him a second chance?"

Pete was spitting mad. Of course he couldn't blame Brendon. Pete had spent years trying to get his own family to accept him or at least stop trying to change him. It had never worked and he hated to see somebody else fall into the same internal trap that he had. "I just wish he was smarter than I was." Finally satisfied that the bread had been pounded into submission, Pete set it aside to rise.

After all his years watching while Pete baked, Gabe took this for the sign it was. He came around to wrap his arms tightly around Pete. He pressed a kiss to Pete's temple. "You never know. He might make the same decision that you did. That being true to himself is worth more than trying to fit into his parents expectations for him."

Pete relaxed back into Gabe's hold. It was a nice thought, but Pete didn't want to get his hopes by expecting something more of Brendon. "At least he got a chance to know that there are people in the world who still have a happy life no matter the gender of their sexual partner."

Gabe snickered right next to Pete's ear. "Keep acting so optimistic and I'm going to think that you have been kidnapped by pod-people."

Swatting at Gabe's hands Pete pulled away. That was a very old joke all the way back from when they had been secretly dating and Pete had told his family that he was hanging out with Gabe so that they could watch B horror movies.

Unfortunately while the years had seen their relationship grow and become stronger, it couldn't do anything for Gabe's terrible sense of humor. "It's almost been an hour. You better be getting back to the bank."

With the grip he had on Pete's arm, Gabe spun Pete until they were standing chest to chest. The island's countertop dug into the small of Pete's back. "I'll go back but only if you promise that you aren't going to spend the whole afternoon obsessing."

Pete opened his mouth to promise only to snap it back closed. He had made promises to himself about lying to Gabe regarding his mental state. "I'll keep my self busy." He finally hedges.

"I guess I'll have to settle for that." With a kiss pressed against Pete's forehead, Gabe slipped through the curtain door and out of the kitchen. The door that lead out on to the street chimed a minute after that. 

Leaving Pete alone with his anger and a loaf of bread he needed to leave alone if he ever wanted it rise. Maybe he should start a batch of Boston Tea cookies. The batter was so thick that it had to be mixed by hand. It took a ton of physical effort. The perfect task to get his mind off the fact he was still feeling guilty for not being able to keep Brendon safe with them.

~♪♫~Gabe~♫♪~

Gabe get much work done that afternoon. He was more than a little bit distracted. Despite the fact that he hadn't thought he and Pete weren't capable of being good parents, he had thought that Brendon needed somebodies help.

And by somebody he didn't mean Brendon's homophobic church and family. It didn't help his mood that he knew Pete was back at the Last Song stewing in his own guilt and anger. If there was one thing that was guaranteed to make Pete turn maudlin it was his family and this had to be bringing up all kinds of memories.

It was bringing up bad memories for Gabe and he had only been an outside observer of the mess that had been Pete's attempts to get his family to accept his sexuality. Gabe was allowed to leave at four o'clock on days when he got all of his work done. This wasn't one of those days but Gabe clocked out early anyway. 

As bad as he was feeling another two hours trying to get all the numbers to add up wouldn't do him much good. A good night's sleep and a chance to clear his mind would do more for his productivity than staying late. 

At least that was the excuse he made to himself when he started packing his briefcase at exactly 4:01 PM. Since he was off early he decided to walk to the Last Dance. He could use the fresh air to help clear his head.

The minute he stepped into the coffee-shop he knew that Pete hadn't managed to calm down during the afternoon. The whole front room smelled of chocolate. Cinnamon, rising bread, and other scents he couldn't differentiate. Gabe's stomach rumbled. He followed its leading back into the kitchen. 

Every surface was covered with cooling baked goods. A few dozen snicker doodles held a place of prominence on top of the range's burner. Gabe made a bee-line over to that direction. Both because there was nothing better than Pete's snicker doodles, and because it gave him an excuse to brush up against Pete. Who had barely glanced up when Gabe came into the kitchen. Too busy violently paging through a recipe magazine to pay him any attention.

When Gabe ran a hand over his shoulder, he almost tore a page out of the magazine he jerked so hard. "Okay, that's it. I think we should close up early tonight and head home."

"We closed up early last night." Pete snapped back at me.

"And if any new customers come in and see you looking like you are going to murder them I don't think that it will help our business. Besides you've got enough backed goods here to fill up all the pastry cases for the morning rush tomorrow. There isn't much point staying later if you've already got all your usual night-time work out of the way."

Pete opened his mouth. Probably to start an argument but Gabe pulled him into a kiss before any words could escape. The kissing continued for a few minutes after that only pausing when one or the other of them had to take a breath. 

"You ready to close up now?" Gabe asked when they finally separated. 

Pete gave him a dirty look but didn't argue. "Fine, but you have to help me get all of this boxed up so that it doesn't go stale before we open tomorrow."

"Sounds fair."

~♪♫~Brendon~♫♪~

Everything had seemed so simple when Henry came to get him. Just agree not to act on his urges and go on a mission trip for two years. It had felt like a small price to pay to come back into the world that he'd grown up in.

A week in and he was a day out from leaving the commune to work at a camp for troubled teens until they can find him more permanent mission placement. He suspects that the camp is meant to keep him under control as much as it is to get him working on his mission. 

He was finding it harder to hold back the urge to speak out when the elders talked about doing your duty by ignoring your earthly temptations. Particularly when they talked about how men lying with men and women lying with women was worse than any other sin.

He'd only had a day to test his limits and taste the freedom of living in a place where neither Pete or Gabe had looked at him oddly for wanting to wear 'girly colors' or liking boys. It was still enough to leave him with edges that didn't quite fit in with commune life. 

He often found himself questioning the tenants his family had always lived by. Like why did they need to make all their own clothes? He hadn't felt any less righteous when he was wearing thrift shop clothing or when he was eating the sandwiches that Pete made for him. It would worry him more the amount of time he spent thinking about Gabe and Pete, except he didn't feel lust for them. 

It was just he couldn't remember the last time that he'd felt that safe. Probably back before he realized he was different than the other boys who liked to whisper about boobs and making babies. He'd thought that being accepted back into the Commune when they knew what he was would make things easier. 

It didn't.

He still hadn't seen his parents. Henry had been telling the truth, nobody else seemed to know anything about them abandoning him in the city. It was all just too confining, having to watch every step and word.

It would be even worse when he went away to camp. There he wouldn't even be able to escape into the woods or hang out with his old friends who still treated him like normal. He'd be on his own. 

Looking up at the trees he decided to do something that went against the tenants of their faith. He prayed for divine inspiration to come to him directly instead of being explained to him by the priests. He prayed for a chance to know if he was making the right choice by trying to fit back into the commune.

He sat there for what felt like hours. Birds flew around him and the sounds of the woods came back once he had stopped making noise of his own. He breathed in the peace and calm. There was no great revelation. He didn't see any visions or speak in tongues.

Instead he just sat and thought about what his future would be like if he stayed. Two years in the ministry and then he'd be expected to take a wife. They'd get married, probably have a handful of kids, and maybe he'd even be happy. In their faith it wasn't like marriage was meant to be about sexual attraction. Even with that knowledge he couldn't imagine being happy in that situation. 

His parents would still doubt him, now that they knew he was a deviant. Even a wife and kids wouldn't change that. A decade or two and he might have even been able to move on to a place where he wasn't sure anymore if he ever had been gay, or just confused. Maybe Henry was right and this all was a phase. 

Even if it was, there was nothing to stop him from going on missions outside of the commune. There wouldn't be anything keeping him from still believing the precepts of their religion in the outside world. If he stayed though, he would be stuck, unable to ever step outside the safe boundaries that had been put in place to protect his eternal soul.

He prayed a prayer of thanksgiving before starting back towards the commune. Whether or not the knowledge had come from divine inspiration he still knew what he needed to do.


	6. Epilouge

~♪♫~Pete~♫♪~  
~♪♫~Three Months Later~♫♪~

Pete wiped down the order counter while keeping an eye on Pat and Brendon while they set up for their big double show. 

It had been three months since they adopted Brendon into their lives. It seemed like no time had passed at all. If you had asked him before if there was anything missing from his life, Pete would have said no. 

He'd had a partner he loved and trusted and fur-baby of his very own. Now he couldn't help but pity the younger him. They'd spent three months dealing with a moody teenager, working on GED classes and helping Brendon find a therapist he liked.

It was the kind of stuff that Pete had always thought of as 'soccer mom' shit, if he ever bothered to think about it at all. He remembered his Mom dealing with school and doctors, and everything else that entailed, when Pete was younger. He'd been fascinated, by how well she'd handled everything but had always figured that being a parent was beyond his skill set.

Now he thought that when they finished helping Brendon get back on his feet, he'd talk to Gabe about applying to be foster parents. It would mean even more changes in the future. But it'd be the good kind of change.

Pete jumped when a long arm hooked around his waist. "If you keep rubbing down the counter so intently I might get jealous." Gabe whispered into his ear. 

The sensation sent a shiver through Pete. "Well, if you want to prove you can satisfy me better, I'm not going to object."

Gabe caught the hint and dipped Pete back over the counter for a kiss.

"Eww!" 

They didn't spring apart like they had the first few times Brendon had caught them in a full make-out session. Despite some disgusted noises, Brendon never seemed to mind them being so openly affectionate. 

Brendon was standing right next to them when they pulled apart. "Are you ready to open up?"

Pete laughed. "I guess. After all, we can't keep your fanboys waiting."

Brendon blushed but kept smiling. That was the other big change that had taken place in the last three months. Brendon had gained more confidence every day. Pete and Gabe were making bets on how much longer it would take before Brendon actually asked out the Spencer boy who delivered fresh milk to the bakery every day.

Speaking of, Brendon had barely flipped the store sign to 'Open' before Spencer came in.

"I think I might have to revise my bet. I suspect that Spencer is going to propose to Brendon the minute Brendon finishes his set," Pete said.

Gabe laughed, and gave Pete an extra squeeze. "I suspect that you are the only person who spontaneously proposes based on other people's talents."

The tips of Pete's ears heated up. "It's not my fault that your coffee is practically orgasmic."

"Uh-huh." Despite the teasing, Gabe just cuddled closer. "I do think he'll ask Brendon on a date though."

"Same difference," Pete insisted. Though Gabe was probably right. Marriage would probably wait another couple months. "So, you feel better about our ability to raise a kid?"

Gabe's bony chin dug into his shoulder for a long minute before Gabe finally replied. "I think Brendon can pretty much raise himself. But I admit that I'm not as terrified of trying to take care of him."

Pete couldn't resist pulling Gabe into another kiss. Who knew he'd find it sexy to watch Gabe be the responsible parent? It certainly hadn't been a thought that would have entered his brain before he'd found Brendon on that bus-stop.

Just one more way that Brendon had improved their lives. Pete couldn't wait to see how much better their lives got in the coming years.

~♪♫~Fin~♫♪~


End file.
